puppy saved family from arm robbers

Mersadie Wells-Shahan doesn’t think she would be alive today if it weren’t for her dog.

Some would-be robbers had pistol-whipped her boyfriend, were holding a gun to her mother’s head and were tying her up when Legend, her 7-month-old, 52-pound mastiff mix, interrupted them Tuesday night, according to authorities.

The home invaders shot the pup twice in the head, which is when she and her mother started screaming, Shahan said. The robbers fled, but not before Legend took a bite out of at least one of them.

One bullet exited near Legend’s ear and the other cut through his shoulder and came out near his hip, Shahan said. The dog is expected to make a full recovery.

“The doctor said he’s bulletproof,” Shahan said.

The trouble started around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, Hillsborough deputies said.

Shahan’s boyfriend had gone to get toilet paper out of the trunk of the car when four or five hooded men attacked him from behind as he was walking back inside. The men dragged him into the house, and they struggled inside the front hallway, police said.

Shahan and her mother came to help, and they were attacked as well, Shahan said. The robbers forced her mother into a corner at gunpoint and knocked Shahan to the ground and started kicking her before tying her up with duct tape, she said.

Shahan and her boyfriend were next to each other on the floor when Legend came to the rescue, she said.

He’s normally a sweet dog, she said, but he is very protective. Shahan’s two other dogs were in another room and weren’t hurt.

When deputies arrived at the Polak Drive home, they established a perimeter and began a search for the attackers, authorities said.

Two people matching the robbers’ descriptions were found near Ellicot Street and Falkenburg Road. One of them, 23-year-old Michael Jovahnny Rivera, was trying to hide something on his left hand, deputies said.

It appeared to be a fresh dog bite.

Rivera was booked into the Hillsborough County jail on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, armed home invasion and felony animal cruelty.

Bad weather forced deputies to stall their search Tuesday night, and on Wednesday they were still searching for three or four more suspects.

A .40-caliber Taurus pistol, two loaded magazines and a roll of duct tape were found near where Rivera was arrested, deputies said.

Shahan suffered minor head injuries when the attackers beat her and tried to tie her up. Her boyfriend has stitches on the back of his head and some bruises on his face, she said.

“It’s nothing compared to what would have happened if Legend didn’t bite them,” Shahan said.

Legend has to wear a cone around his neck for a little while — which he hates, Shahan said — but was able to come home Wednesday from the animal hospital. He didn’t even need surgery.